Wednesday we left our campground on top of Greeley Hill road and went back down the hill. We did not hook up the van until we got to Mariposa. The trip down the hill was all second gear with some braking along the way. When we got down the hill we decided to take sr49 down through the mountains as it was many miles closer that way than the only other way out, which was the crooked way we came in a couple of days earlier.

Sr 49 was a pretty good road but still curvy and up and down the mountains. The Sierra Nevada mountains are something else when it comes to mountain roads. They look like they have been there a hundred or more years and follow the old Indian trails and those of the trappers and hunters. They are a challenge to drive but get the job done.

I pulled over for more than one vehicle to pass as we were not making very good time. There were two motorcycles that blew by me and it certainly looked like they were having fun.

What a great road for motorcycles. There were stretches where they probably were going 60 or 70mph and then it would be down to a switchback of 10 or 15mph.

As you can see in the photos, it certainly is crooked and way up on the side of the mountain. The lake is down considerably as it is used for agriculture use down in the valley and in the spring it will be full from the snow melt and spring rains. You can see the high water marks. Maybe another 20 or 30 feet of water will be available. It is difficult to tell from this altitude.

After we got through the worst of the mountain roads we came to a settlement called Bear Valley. It was just a few houses and a business or two and that was about all, but it was a town anyway.

We finally made our way to Mariposa and better roads where we hooked up the van for the remainder of our trip to Kingsburg, CA and the Viking RV park for a couple of nights. We planned a trip to Sequoia and Kings Canyon.

You can see in the photos the kind of road that we traveled, much of it was a narrow two lane, most with out guard rails and some areas no berms at all, just the white line and a couple of feet of gravel and then nothing but air. A great challenge but enjoyable driving.